


Alone and Burning

by OhanaHoku



Series: Multi-fandom Whumptober Prompts [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Claustrophobia, Claustrophobic Danny "Danno" Williams, Danny!Whump, Dehydration, Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Hurt Danny, Hurt Danny “Danno” Williams, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, Kidnapping, Light Angst, October Prompt Challenge, Ohana, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Starvation, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019, Whumptober Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:50:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22119106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhanaHoku/pseuds/OhanaHoku
Summary: Where was his family? Why had they left him alone? Was… Was he dead?orDanny's been trapped inside a shipping crate and left to die. Will the team find him before time runs out?Late Entry to Whumptober 2019. Day 7: Isolation.
Relationships: Danny "Danno" Williams & Everyone, Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Multi-fandom Whumptober Prompts [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1510679
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	Alone and Burning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic of 2020 and yes, this is a very late entry to Whumptober 2019, but I'm determined to get through the prompts, even if I have to spread them out through 2020! This is Day 7: Isolation. All triggers are in the tags, please read them first! And enjoy!

It had been two weeks. Two weeks that Danny had been trapped inside an eight by ten shipping crate, with his wrists and ankles on short chains that limited his movement. It had been two weeks since Danny’s captives had left, making it quite clear to him before doing so that they only kept him alive to make him suffer before he died a slow death of starvation and dehydration, or possibly went insane due to his small prison.

At first, the crate hadn’t bothered him. It was a little small, but for a few days, he’d been able to ignore the creeping feeling of claustrophobia. Then it slowly started to get worse. Danny got antsy, his shoulders hunching away from the walls as he frantically redoubled his efforts to find a way out. Then it started to affect him mentally, making the detective collapse as the walls seemed to press in on him, a horrific pressure around him on all sides. He curled into the smallest ball he could, trying to make the crate look larger than it was as he started to hyperventilate.

But after days of dealing with the panic attacks and nausea it caused him, the seemingly airless confinement faded away, leaving Danny numb and drained of energy.

The meager food supply they left him had run out five days ago, and the water supply three days ago.

His breath rasped out of his too dry throat, and his too dry skin ached for the sweet relief of sweat that wouldn’t come. The day was hot outside the small world of the box, the air likely humid as it was on the island. But none of the humidity seeped into the crate, only the warmth of the sun that made the itch across his skin a million times worse.

The detective’s head hung low, chin to chest. He didn’t have the strength to lift it anymore, to move even a muscle.

That was the sixth time he’d woken that day, yet he couldn’t force himself to do anything other than sit there listlessly against the wall. He couldn’t convince himself to move to a more comfortable position and relieve some of the pain in his cramped muscles. He couldn’t even convince himself to open his eyes, he didn’t have enough strength.

His lungs spasmed as Danny nearly drifted back to sleep, driving the detective into a coughing fit, much like the one that had woken him in the first place. The fit tapered off with a groan, his breathing rapid and too shallow.

Danny dropped his head back down after only a second of trying to lift it, a dizzy spell making the world blur as he blinked his eyes open. He wasn’t sure what was happening anymore, where he was, or why. All he knew was that he was alone, and he had been for far too long.

Where was Grace? Steve? Was he alone? He didn’t want to be alone. He’d had enough of that when he moved here. Before Steve found him, before he had a family on the island. He didn’t like being alone. He wanted to have his family around him, but where were they? Had they abandoned him like Rachel?

No, they wouldn’t leave him. Except… Chin and Kono were his family, and they had left. No, no. They didn’t abandon Danny, they just moved away. They still kept in touch. And Danny had more family members now. He had Lou, Tani, and Junior. He even had Jerry and Max. They were his family.

So, where was his family? Why had they left him alone? Was… Was he dead?

It was hot where Danny was. His skin was dry and burning. Burning… Wasn’t there someplace that people went to when they died? Somewhere hot and… flamey?

The place that bad people went. Wait, Danny wasn’t bad. He was one of the good guys, wasn’t he?

But Danny had killed people. The man who murdered Matty… He deserved to die. That man was evil, and Matty hadn’t deserved to die, even if he had made the mistake of stealing money…

Maybe the evil man was in the flame-place too.

The thought made a slight smile tug at his cracked lips, but his amusement faded quickly. If he was dead and he wasn’t up there… Then he would never get to see Grace again. Or Charlie. Or any of his family. Except maybe Steve… No, Steve was too good to wind up where Danny was. Steve had killed people, but his heart was always in the right place. And he had saved so many people. He’d saved Danny so many times, there was no way he’d be sent down with Danny.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

“I found it! Guys, over here!” Steve shouted, hurrying toward the crate they’d managed to find in the vast jungle. “Danny! Danny, can you hear me?” He called as he reached the box.

No answer came. Steve’s throat tightened as he tried not to think about what that could mean. The others were at his side shortly with the equipment they needed. The first thing they needed to do was deal with the giant chain that wrapped around the box. That was quickly taken care of by Lou and some bolt cutters.

The next problem was the box itself. The wooden crate was carefully constructed to be strong enough that one man alone couldn’t force the boards apart. In fact, it would take several people to accomplish it.

Steve frowned as he realized this, but they had come prepared. “Alright, let’s get him out of there.” He said, stepping up with a crowbar in hand. He and Junior positioned themselves on one side, and Lou and Tani took the other.

The four of them shoved their crowbars into the barely-there seam in the wood, and on Steve’s count, all four of them went to work on the bars.

Steve grunted at the effort, his eyes trained on the seam as they all pulled as hard as possible. It took a minute of straining before the nails gave slightly. “We’re doing it! Don’t stop, keep pulling!” Steve shouted, reinforcing his grip around the crowbar and positioning his feet to give him better leverage.

“It’s working!” Tani called from their side. “Just a little more!”

“We’re coming, Danny! Just hang in there!” Lou roared, his muscles bulging as he pulled even harder on the crowbar.

Sweat dotted Junior’s brow as he strained to pull as hard as he could against the bar, silently pleading that they weren’t too late.

“On three, guys! Give it everything you’ve got on three!” Steve yelled. “One… Two… Three!”

With one united, mighty pull, the nails gave out, and the side of the box fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Steve was rushing into the crate the instant the boards separated, his heart beating quickly. “Danny!” He saw Danny’s hunched form at the center of the box and knelt down in front of him. One hand went to his shoulder, and the other searched for Danny’s carotid pulse, the accelerated and thready beat making his worry spike.

He looked down and saw the chains on Danny’s wrists and ankles, anger leaping into his chest. “Lou, bring the bolt cutters in here!”

“Danny, come on.” Steve murmured. “Wake up.” He lifted Danny’s head, and his eyes widened at the sunken quality of his friend’s.

They’d anticipated dehydration, but this was severe. “Someone call for a medevac, now! And bring that water in here!” He shouted as Lou entered the box with the bolt cutters.

The ex-Chicago cop wrinkled his nose at the rank smell of the box’s interior that was made worse with the heat of the day, but he refrained from commenting on it as he knelt down next to them. “He doesn’t look good.” He murmured as he carefully cut the chains. The manacles would have to be taken care of later.

Tani squatted next to them. “I’ve got the water, but he doesn’t look like he’s up to drinking anything.”

Indeed, Danny’s eyes were closed, his head lolling listlessly on his shoulders where Steve held it up. “I know. We gotta wake him up first.” He said, slapping Danny’s cheek lightly. “Danny, wake up!” He frowned when there was no reaction, slapping his cheek again, only harder. “Danny!”

The blond’s face twitched this time, and his eyes opened ever so slowly into narrow slits. “St’ve?” He mumbled, his voice thick with lack of water.

A grin broke out on Steve’s face. “Yeah, it’s me, buddy.”

“Why… Why’re you ‘ere?” He asked, eyes slowly closing again.

“Hey, don’t go back to sleep, Danny. Stay awake.” Steve told him.

“Shoul’t be ‘ere.” Danny mumbled, sounding sad.

“What? Danny, we came to rescue you. We’ve got some nice water for you to drink. So stay awake, or you don’t get any, okay?” Steve instructed, shaking Danny hard enough to keep him awake.

His eyes blinked back open, though he sighed in discomfort. “We?” He rasped, trying to force his eyes open further, blinking harshly due to the dry, scratchy feeling. He seemed to grow distressed at seeing Lou by Steve’s right side. “Lou?” He whispered before looking to Steve’s left and seeing Tani. His face crumbled at seeing the young woman. “No. No, not you.” He whimpered roughly, shaking his head. “Too young.” He whispered, sounding close to tears. “Too in’cent… Shoul’t be ‘ere.”

Lou shared a concerned look with Steve. “He’s not all there. That evac better get here soon.”

Steve nodded before trying to get Danny’s attention again. “Danny, you have to drink this- Lou.”

The big man nodded and moved around to Danny’s back, supporting his weight and tilting Danny’s head back.

The detective went along with it, too weak to protest as Steve opened his mouth and poured some water into it, coaxing the detective to swallow a small amount of water. Steve stopped after a few swallows, knowing that Danny could get sick from too much too soon. But the small amount would help soothe Danny’s throat and let him breathe a bit better at the very least before they could get an IV in him.

Junior spoke up quietly from where he was standing in the entrance. “ETA is three minutes.”

Steve nodded, watching as Danny relaxed against Lou, his eyes closing once again and his body going still.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Danny was drifting in and out of his thoughts and blissful nothingness when something slapped his face hard. Was that part of the program in the hot place? That didn’t sound right. Pitchforks sounded right. At least, they made more sense than slapping.

Wait, did someone just say his name? It sounded… But that couldn’t be right. Steve wasn’t supposed to be there.

With great difficulty, Danny opened his eyes just enough to see the man in front of him. “St’ve?”

Danny frowned as his partner had the gall to grin at him. What had the idiot done to get himself sent to the hot place? Maybe he did something on purpose so he could keep Danny company? No, Steve wasn’t that stupid… But the fact remained that he was there.

“Why… Why’re you ‘ere?” He asked, eyes closing tiredly. “Shoul’t be ‘ere.” He mumbled sadly. Steve didn’t deserve to be there. He should have gone somewhere nice. Somewhere refreshing and peaceful, where things didn’t burn.

Steve was talking again. What was he saying? Danny tried to pay attention, but only one word caught his attention. We. We? Who was with Steve?

“We?” He whispered as he forced his eyes open once more, blinking harshly at the itchy feeling that plagued them. He looked to his left and saw Lou sitting next to Steve. “Lou?” Not Lou too. He was such a good guy, he shouldn’t be there.

Tani’s face came into view as he turned his face to the right, and Danny thought he might cry if only the tears would come. “No. No, not you.” He whispered. Tani was so young, so good. She didn’t deserve to burn for eternity. “Too young… Too in’cent… Shoul’t be ‘ere.” He mumbled, shaking his head.

Danny was barely aware of being laid against Lou’s chest and drinking some water. He was so distressed, he just wished for an end to it all. None of them should have been there. He was the bad one, not them. Just him…

The detective drifted off, wondering if there was a way he could help his friends escape. Even if it meant he’d be alone again. He’d stay behind as long as his family didn’t have to remain.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The next thing Danny knew, he was lying in a hospital bed, wondering how in the world he’d gotten there. The last thing he knew he’d been in… Oh.

He let out a hysterical giggle. He’d never- Oh, he must have been in bad shape. He was in the box, and the others had found him. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t burning. He was just dehydrated, as he could tell from the dryness of his throat and his still too itchy skin.

The sound of his manic laughter drew Steve’s attention from where he stood by the window in Danny’s room. The SEAL strode over quickly, a grin growing on his face. “You’re awake!” He exclaimed, grabbing a cup full of fresh, cold water and placing the straw to Danny’s lips.

Danny latched onto it gratefully and took a few sips to relieve his parched throat. He laid his head back with a sigh when he was done. “Thanks.” He murmured, his lips twitching into a small smile at seeing Steve with him. “How long was I out?” He whispered, his throat still sore from lack of use over the past two weeks.

“About eight hours,” Steve told him, setting the cup back down. “Are you feeling okay?” He asked, concerned about the slightly insane laughter of his partner.

Danny was about to answer when Lou poked his head in the door and grinned. “He’s awake!” He called down the hall before coming in, a veritable sea of people following him. Junior, Grace, Charlie, Tani, Max, Jerry, even Eric, and Adam were there.

Danny chuckled as Charlie climbed onto the bed and hugged him while Grace and Tani both perched on the bed, and the others all stood around.

He looked up to Steve and smiled brightly, nodding. “Yeah. I’m okay.” He told him, hugging Charlie back and taking Grace’s hand. “In fact, I’m great.” He said, grinning at his adopted family.

He wasn’t alone anymore. And he didn’t think he ever would be again.

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count - 2446. This turned out longer than expected, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I just love Whump, don't you? If you do, you may want to check out the other fics in this collection! This is the only Hawaii Five-0 fic so far, but there will be more coming. There's also Teen Wolf, Merlin, and Grimm so far! I also have several other Hawaii Five-0 fics outside of the collection if you want to check those out! I hope you all have a wonderful day, week, month, and year! :D
> 
> Check out my [tumblr](https://ohanahoku-ao3.tumblr.com/)


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